Turkey on high alert over Isis terror threat

Turkey's intelligence agency and the CIA warn Ankara could come under terror attack by Islamic State militantsStoyan Nenov/Reuters

Turkey has been put on high alert after intelligence agencies warned the country could come under terror attack by Islamic State (Isis) militants. Officials from both Turkish intelligence and CIA have warned of an imminent threat to Turkey.

According to information collected by the CIA and Ankara's Turkish National Intelligence Organisation (MIT), IS (Daesh) Islamists are plotting attacks on American interests including their diplomatic posts and military bases in Turkey. The warning comes within days of the closure of the US consulate in Turkey's largest city of Istanbul over a security threat.

Turkey's Hurriyet daily reported that two separate warning messages were issued on 2 December and 5 December pointing to a specific threat. According to the intelligence agencies, at least five IS operatives have reportedly infiltrated Turkey in the last few days in order to launch a high-profile attack.

All the police departments have received a notification pertaining to the security situation and were warned that three of the five infiltrators were Palestinians. The notice also cautions that places frequented by Russian tourists could come under attack.

Turkey, which shares a long border with conflict-torn Syria, has also come under IS attacks ever since the country actively began to target the Islamist terror outfit. Suicide bombings were also carried out on Turkish soil by the IS extremists in the past.